Music between the city and the sea
June 23, 2003
Bjoerk's style is impenetrable, with vocals that cry to the heavens like a nun gone afoul. But unless patrons already bought tickets to her Aug. 15 performance at the pier, they'll have to forego listening to her mix of uncanny melodies and insidious techno beats. That's because her concert is sold out -- but there are still many options for this year's Summer Nights at the Pier.
This past weekend, Chris Isaak played two sold-out shows. Isaak's vintage rock 'n' roll cascaded across the Seattle skyline and a setting sun. This backdrop is what's so unique about the pier concert series.
Beyond a collection of musical genres that includes big names like Lyle Lovett and the eclectic, popular Ani Difranco, the pier's atmosphere brings a big city to the knees of a silent maritime skyscape.
Eyes can wander to the ocean and pretend that all members of The Doors are present at a reunion concert scheduled for July 19, instead of the band's surviving members who never actually contributed to the text of such hits as "Light My Fire." That privilege went to Jim Morrison, who died in a drug-induced haze. Cult-lead-singer Ian Astbury replaces Morrison for the so-called reunion tour. But if concertgoers close their eyes and just listen to the music, maybe Morrison's spirit will embrace the moment somewhere between the city and the sea.
Another dead band, The Beach Boys, is trying to reap profits, even though its main member. Brian Wilson, left the band years ago to forge a solo career. Perhaps in preparation for their appearance in Seattle, The Beach Boys made an unannounced concert appearance at the finale to the Newspaper Association of America's (NAA) national convention just a month ago.
Nearing 1 a.m. at the Sheraton Hotel, the set long over, Mike Love hummed as Bruce Johnston revved up the lobby piano. With only a desk clerk and a few straggling -- and drunk -- interns drooling over them like candy, Love belted out a new song about romance and peace of mind. It was a piece that could easily have found its home in The Beach Boy's classic Pet Sounds.
In a moment reminiscent of the Beatles, with whom The Beach Boys were contemporaries, Love actually said, "Love is all we need." Maybe old fans will love the band enough to keep coming -- even if now-absent Wilson was the god of that band. The interns at the NAA convention sure loved them.
Comments
Post a comment
You are not currently logged in. You must log in using your Facebook account to post a comment. It's fast, easy, and we don't store any of your personal information, except your first and last name when you post a comment.
Why?
Our old comment system was abused to leave racist, sexist, fradulent, or simply useless comments. We're hoping this verification step will improve the quality of our comments.
I don't have a Facebook account. I'd like to verify my identity using my MySpace/Google/Yahoo!/OpenID/SSN/주민등록번호/MasterCard.
Let us know. We're open to suggestions. Over the next few weeks, we'll be testing other authentication methods.
The FBI/CIA/TSA/CoS/Emmert is out to get me! I need to stay anonymous!
We're working on a way to allow this. If you have any ideas, email us.
I think this website is ugly.
It's going to be a work in progress all summer, so it may look and act differently from week to week. If you want to influence this process, email us. We read every email, and respond to most of them.